Affordable Public Education

K-12 Education

Without the best public schools, the United States will not have the innovative workforce we need to be competitive through the 21st Century. Friends of Intelligent Democracy supports:

● Using a combination of federal and state funds for public education to support school districts with lower tax bases in an effort to equalize spending per student across school districts;

● Ending the use of Common Core and replacing it with curriculum written by the Department of Education that emphasizes understanding learning material rather than regurgitating information for a standardized test;

● Using the Department of Education, not for-profit companies, to ensure equal opportunity to an apolitical, effective education that encourages independence, innovation and success;

● Removing creationism and pseudoscience from the curriculum at schools that receive taxpayer funding from local, state or federal government sources;

● Increasing access to trained mental health professionals for students through the education system;

Teacher Pay

Our teachers are some of the most valuable members of our workforce as they are trusted with training students for their future as engaged members of society. Unfortunately, Republicans in numerous state legislatures and in Congress do not understand the value of our teachers and therefore create an economic environment that discourages individuals from entering the profession. Friends of Intelligent Democracy supports:

● Creating a tax credit for all school supplies purchased by teachers in schools that are not otherwise provided for;

● Forgiving existing student debt by an increasing amount each year that a graduate teaches in order to encourage qualified graduates to teach;

Higher Education

In today’s society, 70% of high school graduates enroll in some form of higher education program. Access to higher education programs is typically barred by the increasing cost of attending universities across the country with an average debt balance of $29,800 and a nationwide student debt of $1.6 trillion. Making college affordable and debt-free is essential to increasing economic growth, social mobility and quality of life across generations of Americans. Friends of Intelligent Democracy supports:

● Making community college and trade school programs debt-free over two years to ensure that every high school graduate be provided with educational opportunities to pursue a variety of fields within the workforce;

● Transitioning to a four-year university system over five years that allows students to attend in-state institutions without incurring student debt by creating a nationwide government service program. This service program would require students work a year for every year they attended university. Service projects would be specific to the major a student graduates with and these service projects would have the added benefit of helping students make connections in the field they plan to work in. Examples would be using a STEM degree to assist a construction company on a Department of Transportation infrastructure project or teaching major-related classes in a K-12 school in coordination with the Department of Education and Teach for America.